Judge approves New Jersey's $225 million settlement with Exxon Mobil

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie listens to applause after he called on Democratic Sen. Cory Booker and the state's congressional delegation to join Sen. Bob Menendez in opposing the Iran deal, which aims to dismantle Iran's nuclear capabilities in exchange for relief from international economic sanctions worth billions of dollars, at the Chabad House at Rutgers University Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2015, in New Brunswick, N.J. (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Photo: Mel Evans, STF

TRENTON, N.J. - A New Jersey judge approved a $225 million deal Tuesday between Gov. Chris Christie's administration and Exxon Mobil over dozens of polluted sites and nearly 2,000 retail gasoline stations, ending an 11-year legal battle that the state calls historic and opponents call a sellout.

Superior Court Judge Michael Hogan ruled that while the deal is much less than the $8.9 billion the state originally sought, it is a "reasonable compromise" considering "substantial litigation risks" faced by the state in the case that spanned both Democratic and Republican governors.

The settlement is "fair, reasonable, in the public interest, and consistent with the goals of the Spill Compensation and Control Act," the judge wrote, noting that the settlement is on top of Exxon Mobil's responsibility to clean up the sites.

New Jersey sued Irving-basd Exxon Mobil for natural resources damage in 2004. The idea was to hold the company responsible not only for cleaning up polluted areas - which include two oil refineries in Bayonne and Linden and other sites and retail gas stations across New Jersey - but to compensate the public for the alleged harm to groundwater, surface water and other ecological resources.

Christie, a Republican running for his party's presidential nomination, has hailed the deal as a major settlement against a corporate polluter.

The deal was criticized by environmental groups and Democrats, a majority in the state Legislature, who say the settlement is just a fraction of the billions of dollars New Jersey should have recovered.

Hogan opens his 81-page ruling with a quote from a previous, unrelated case: "Nearly any consent decree can be viewed simultaneously as 'a crackdown or a sellout.' "

Under law, about $50 million of the settlement will go toward site remediation. Another roughly $50 million will go toward the state's private legal costs. The rest is slated to go into the general fund.

The deal covered properties such as the gas stations that were not part of the lawsuit. It calls for the oil company to pay for environmental remediation at the sites for an as-yet-unknown cost.

Environmental advocates complain that the amount of cleanup the company must do is less under the settlement than it would have been if the state had prevailed in the lawsuit.

Hogan presided during 66 days of trial from January 2014 to September 2014 that included dueling damage estimates from experts hired by the state and Exxon Mobil. He said he was just beginning to work on a ruling when he received notice that the state and the company had reached a settlement in February.

His decision to approve came after a 60-day public comment period. He said the vast majority of more than 16,000 public comments opposed the settlement.

Todd Spitler, a spokesman for Exxon Mobil, said the settlement brings the case to a "fair and reasonable conclusion."